Manufacturing System

The development of the Toyota Production System (TPS) based on principles of lean technology has especially impressed numerous manufacturers around the world. It attaches remarkable importance to reducing and then eliminating waste and focusing on ...

The increased use of changeable characteristics in modern manufacturing and robotic systems and applications call for improved system control design that offers some degree of reconfigurability. The need for control reconfiguration of robotic systems arises due to ...

The phenomena of machine failures, defects, multiple rework loops, etc., results in much difficulty in modeling rework systems, and therefore the performance analysis of such systems has been investigated limitedly in the past. We propose an analytical method for the performance evaluation of rework systems with unreliable machines and finite buffers. To characterize the rework flow in the system, a new 3M1B (three-machine and one-buffer) Markov model is first presented. Unlike previous models, it is capable of representing multiple rework loops, and the rework fraction of each loop is calculated based on the quality of material flow in the system. A decomposition method is then developed for multistage rework systems using the proposed 3M1B model as one of the building blocks. The experimental results demonstrate that the decomposition method provides accurate estimates of performance measures such as throughput and Work-In-Process (WIP). We have applied this method to several problems, such as the determination of the optimal inspection location and the identification of bottleneck machines in rework systems.► We propose an analytical model for manufacturing systems with multiple rework loops. ► We solve problems such as inspection allocation and bottleneck identification. ► Bottlenecks of rework systems migrate differently compared to systems without rework. ► We propose a continuous improvement strategy in the paper.

Facing new and varied customer's needs, strategies of production have radically changed during these list three decades leading to a need for agile and, as a consequence, self-organized manufacturing control systems. One possible way to integrate self-organization capability is to move from rigid centralized architectures towards distributed architectures. In this paper, we present a state-of-the-art of self-organization models in distributed manufacturing control, according to the bionic, holonic, multi-agent and heterarchical design approaches. We show the potential capabilities offered by these approaches to integrate self-organization mechanisms. Meanwhile, we also point out the insufficiencies of existing contributions, which lead us to highlight some future trends in the design of effective self-organized manufacturing control systems.

Agility, speed and flexibility in production networks are required in today's global competition in the flat world. The accuracy of order date delivery promises is a key element in customer satisfaction. Agile production needs a management and evaluation tool for production changes. Discrete event simulation, DES, has mainly been used as a production system analysis tool, to evaluate new production system concepts, layout and control logic. DES can be used for operational planning as well, as shown in the paper. The simulation analysis gives a forecast of the future with given input values, thus production managers have time to react to potential problems and evaluate alternatives. A balance between multiple parallel customer orders and finite resources can be found. The authors are developing a system design evaluation method and also a decision support system for production managers. Two case studies with different approaches are described in the paper.

PurposeThis study sets out to focus on the textiles and fashion clothing supply chain with the objective of identifying factors that constrain company activities and inhibit competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology for this research involves multiple case studies involving UK companies. Supply chain management theory and ecological concepts have been used to interpret the data and to identify significant blocks affecting dynamic performance of the participating companies.FindingsThe research has identified seven significant blocks to responsiveness that were apparent in the observed supply chains: timing of fabric trade shows, lack of control of availability of fabric, forecasting, late stage product changes, geographical proximity to market, decision making decoupled from fashion trends, stock‐outs and slow selling products.Practical implicationsThe paper draws conclusions about the strategic directions of fashion supply chains and suggests the need to develop str...

Global economy is transforming the sources of the competitive advantages of firms, especially for firms embedded in local manufacturing systems. Based on the theoretical contributions to knowledge management and industrial districts, this paper describes alternative firm's strategies and upgrading options by exploring the relationships among innovation, marketing and network technologies. Starting from the analysis of the Global Competitiveness Report and the European Innovation Scoreboard, this paper focuses on the case of firms specializing in the "Made in Italy" industries (fashion, furniture, home products) to outline a framework explaining the new competitive opportunities for SMEs. Through a qualitative analysis,this paper presents four case studies of Italian firms that promote successful strategies based on a coherent mix of R&D-based innovation, experienced marketing and design, by leveraging on ICT.

The concept (and implementation) of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) has drawn much attention in both industry and academia. This paper investigates the scope of PLM systems, presents different types of PLM architecture and identifies an appropriate definition of PLM for a Network-Centric Manufacturing paradigm with a specific focus on small manufacturing enterprises. Research issues of PLM such as interoperability of